#StretchItOut

7:30 am wake up, Oh! What's wrong? I can barely walk, it hurts. What did I do yesterday? These are the questions that goes through everyone's mind that has ever felt heel pain.

PLANTAR FASCIITIS was the diagnosis, better known as heel spurs to most. I was asked a series of questions: do you work out, do you climb hills, do you jog, or jump rope?

Do you wear high heels for period of time? When you work out do you wear comfortable sneakers?

Do you use stairs a lot on a daily bases, or do you do any activity that constantly pounds your feet?

After answering YES to all of those questions, I was asked was I diabetic, have flat feet, high arches or have any weight gain. No were the answers to those questions.

Compounding daily walking that include hill climbing, jogging, fast walking, going up and down stairs in my home and wearing high heels a lot takes a toll on your feet. Your feet that move you from here to there need more care than we take time to give.

Recommendation: physical therapy for 4-6 weeks. Learning to stretch, stretch and stretch. Understanding that my feet must be attended to after a hard work out, or just moving about doing my daily routine.

Before bed, and before getting out of the bed in the morning, or lying down for several hours. One of the stretches I learned was rolling a bath towel lengthwise, placing it under the ball of my feet, holding the towel at each end and pulling gently toward you.
And many more, these stretching exercises were very beneficial. They did help some what.

While at the library one day I ran across a Yoga video by Jane Fonda. I've always thought about trying Yoga, and in the back of my mind I want to find a intense stretching routine. Checked it out, brought it home, watched it a couple of times and tried it out. It's awkward at first moving in and out of the poses, memorizing the video from beginning to end, but I liked it. 2 weeks later I noticed there was absolutely no foot pain. I remember saying out loud, the answer is Yoga.

There's Longevity in doing Yoga and once you establish the poses, you can practice it anywhere. I do it on the beach, backyard, hotel room, and in my favorite spot in my home. I do lift weights, but when I do Yoga, I lift my body weight and don't need machines or rubber bands all of the time.

It's been over 20 years since I was diagnosed with PLANTAR FASCIITIS, and I feel great. At the end of the day and 7:30 am when I'm starting my day, I no longer hurt under bottom of my feet. Yoga is for any age, and the benefit is Longevity.